Police Say Livingston Parish Couple Left Baby in Locked Car for an Hour

Police Say Livingston Parish Couple Left Baby in Locked Car for an Hour

Arthur Henry, Jr., 35, and Lana Wallace Henry, 32, were arrested on child cruelty and drug charges after they left their baby in their car at a Walmart. Cops rescued the baby from the car, and when the parents returned they were impaired. (Walker Police Department/WVLA)

WALKER, La. (WVLA) – A Denham Springs man, and a St. Amant woman were arrested Friday night by Walker Police on child cruelty and drug charges.

According to a report, Walker officers responded to a report of an infant locked in a car in the Walmart parking lot.

When police arrived, they noticed a baby crying in the backseat. Officers made the decision to force entry into the vehicle to rescue the child due to high summer temperatures.

Police checked the child for injuries and called the Office of Child Services.

Officers searched the car in an effort to identify the owner of the vehicle. At that time, Billy and Lana Henry were seen walking toward the vehicle.

When officers questioned them, they admitted to owning the vehicle and being the parents of the infant inside. Police learned that the baby had been locked in the car for nearly an hour.

Both parents were then arrested for child cruelty.

Based on their behavior, condition, and statements to officers, Walker police determined that both the father and mother were impaired.

One officer reported that the suspects “were unsteady on their feet and had slurred speech.”

Police then questioned the mother and father separately. Both of them seemed shocked when asked about the infant. Neither of them remembered bringing the child along with them to Walmart.

Both subjects later admitted to taking Oxycodone. After searching the vehicle, officers also found marijuana, Adderall, oxymorphone (Opana), and a syringe in the wife’s purse.

Police suspected that the parents might have other children. The parents were initially uncooperative, but eventually told police that their three other children were with family at a house with a blue door, near a tire shop on Florida Boulevard.

Police located the house and found the other three children with a member of the Henry family. One of the children was a twin of the baby found in car at Walmart. The other two children, both girls, were 10 and 11-years-old.

OCS placed all of the children into state custody.

The couple was transported to the Walker Police Department for processing.

When they arrived, officers found Xanax on the floor of the police vehicle in which the couple was transported. Lana Henry admitted to dropping the drugs on the floor.

Billy Arthur Henry, Jr., was booked with Cruelty to Juveniles; Possession of Schedule I CDS (Synthetic Marijuana); and Disturbing the Peace. He is currently being held in the Livingston Parish Detention Center with bail set at $26,000.00.

Lana Wallace Henry was booked on charges of Cruelty to Juveniles; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Possession of Schedule I CDS (Synthetic Marijuana); Two Counts of Possession of Schedule II CDS (Oxymorphone & Adderall); Possession of Schedule IV CDS (Xanax); Possession of a Legend Drug without a Prescription; and Disturbing the Peace. Lana Henry’s bail was set at $56,500.

After the booking process, a Adderall was found hidden on Lana Henry’s person, resulting in additional charges of Possession of Schedule II CDS (Adderall) and Introduction of Contraband into a Penal Institution. Bail on those charges has been set at $45,000.00. She remains in the Livingston Parish Detention Center in lieu of bail.

8 comments

Daniel M. Marcus

Hopefully this was a blessing in disguise. It is evident that these people are not capable of raising children and I pray the children will all find happy and stable homes. The penalty for this sort of abusive behavior should be no less than the penalty for attempted murder. God bless these children.